Neil Patrick Harris sings at the Tonys - Cast&Crew

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June 08 2009

Neil Patrick Harris sings at the Tonys. Awesome finale number performed by Neil! (Spoilers for those West Coasters who haven't seen the ceremony yet.)

floofypooh | Cast&Crew | 04:29 CET | 29 comments total | tags:

Oh this is so fun, I'm watching as I write: NPH is wearing the sexiest leather tux I've ever seen (the only leather tux I've ever seen!). I'm hoping he does a number though, I was disappointed he didn't sing in the opening number, everyone else on the planet did!

eta: OMG! I just watched your link... that moment is still more than an hour away here (and full of spoilers! lol) and is incredibly awesome. I love Neil!

[ edited by embers on 2009-06-08 04:39 ]

embers | June 08, 04:36 CET

Yeah, do not watch this if you do not want the Tony winners spoiled for you. He basically lists them all.

Great ending to that song.
"This show could not be any gayer"..."I'm off to hit some big tony balls"

[ edited by Jayne's Hat on 2009-06-08 05:25 ]

Jayne's Hat | June 08, 04:53 CET

Sorry, Jayne's Hat & Embers... I'll add a tag...

[ edited by floofypooh on 2009-06-08 05:01 ]

floofypooh | June 08, 04:57 CET

No, floofypooh, I was only kidding, I don't care about being spoiled for the Tony Awards, particularly not while listening to the awesome NPH!

embers | June 08, 05:04 CET

That was a terrific belt-out, with some great rewritten lyrics. NPH = still rising.

SoddingNancyTribe | June 08, 05:05 CET

Now we just need Joss to write an original Broadway show and have NPH star in it.

It needs to be original though. Too many Broadway shows are trying to rip off movies and relive past glories of other shows. I think that is one reason, besides the economy, that Broadway is in trouble.

Jayne's Hat | June 08, 05:29 CET

Joss + Broadway + NPH = all my saving cashed!

Mirage | June 08, 05:38 CET

I would love to know who rewrote those lyrics, and in such a short time, too!

floofypooh | June 08, 06:22 CET

Maybe who ever wrote them actually was an organizer in some way so knew in advance who had won?

Also, AWESOME. I loved his smile at the end, he looked just genuinely really happy.

Bluey | June 08, 07:11 CET

I want Dr. Horrible on Broadway. S'all I'm sayin'.

Tessa | June 08, 07:14 CET

Maybe who ever wrote them actually was an organizer in some way so knew in advance who had won?

No one except a handful of people in the accounting firm that handles the ballots knows wot he winners are until they are announced. The song was written on the fly (although possibly had pre-written options to drop into place to fit).

The One True b!X | June 08, 07:20 CET

Neil: absolutely the best thing about the Tonys. Worth laboring through the rest of it, and that's saying something...

His voice, his presence, his lovely humor shining through - Neil is special. And I could be wrong, but I don't think a whole lot of performers would be willing or even capable of doing something like this - written on the fly (at least in some respect) as this must have been. Kinda nerve-wracking, I'd think.

"Chris Sieber - please.
Performing on your knees.
Dude. That only works to win Golden Globes."

Hee.

QuoterGal | June 08, 07:26 CET

Dear Emmys,

Need a host for this year?
See the Tonys' host. Get him.
Case Closed.
Hey, you owe him for not giving him an Emmy the past three years...and us for last year's choice for host.

Love,
TV viewers

[ edited by impalergeneral on 2009-06-08 07:38 ]

impalergeneral | June 08, 07:37 CET

Thanks for explaining, Bix. :) NPH was even more awesome then. Maybe even Legendary.

Bluey | June 08, 08:37 CET

What a voice! He's just too awesome.

ShanshuBugaboo | June 08, 09:33 CET

NPH: Great Job!
CBS/Tony audio person: Not so much.

chazman | June 08, 11:52 CET

I agree Chazman. Whoever did the audio for that show needs to find another line of work. I understand that they had a lot of microphones to keep track of, but I counted 3 nearly show stopping audio problems with minor problems beyond that.

Of course that is probably why a lot of shows prerecord and lip sync to the music. I guess they see that as cheating at the Tonys.

My favorite audio failure was the lady warming up backstage during the opening musical number. You would think somebody would be listening and shut her mic off. It went on for several minutes.

Jayne's Hat | June 08, 12:09 CET

I missed the Tonys, but it appears I just saw the best of the entire show. Damn, NPH is talented. And kudos to whoever wrote that, although I think, as said above, that parts must have been written ahead of time. NPH didn't seem to be watching a monitor the whole time he was singing, so he must have rehearsed parts of it ahead of time.

palehorse | June 08, 12:50 CET

That was pretty impressive though I do sort of question pointing out the Tony's were tonight as part of the event and at the close since they totally slipped my mind.

Still, as musical number efforts go I really admire writing out multiple options depending on who won and the on-the-fly montage work that must have been done to project on the screen though.

It's slightly unfortunate that other elements they probably could have worked out in rehearsal that slipped in like the microphone stuff I've heard about or how they cut a bit off for when he looks down and supposedly notices there are credits running down his torso.

orangewaxlion | June 08, 12:51 CET

The lyrics to the song are here.

palehorse | June 08, 12:59 CET

I liked the closing number, but otherwise thought there wasn't nearly enough of him. He did stick a "BTW" into the opening monologue, a la Dr. H. (or maybe not...maybe it was just a concidence, but I prefer to think it was a little nod to us).

Eileen | June 08, 13:12 CET

We saw a little more than the last hour; I did want to see more of him, but the close was enough. "Always leave them wanting more" is an old stage maxim, and very true. Most hosts, there's so much of them that half-way through the show you want to start booing. The show isn't (or shouldn't be) about the host; it's about the nominees and their work.

I don't remember who the two writers were; I suspect a lot of it was pre-written, and that part of the reason we didn't see as much of NPH as we wanted was because he was busy learning a new line and how to read it, for every award. Stunning performance on his part.

htom | June 08, 15:05 CET

What a show. He seemed so happy to be there, so in his element. His obvious glee was hugely infectious, his performance spot-on. I can't remember a host ever doing it better.

He's gravy right now and he knows it. Great job, NPH!

Willowy | June 08, 15:44 CET

All I saw about the Tonys was this video with NPH finale number...and it was enough to make me happy! How I love this man, and how I love it when he sings!
Is there somewhere I can find the whole thing?? Want more NPH!!!

JotheCat | June 08, 17:04 CET

Yes, NPH was so great! I missed the first part of the show and was saying to my husband, "Oh we missed NPH's opening song." But if there wasn't one, no loss there.

wrecks | June 08, 17:42 CET

Thanks so much for the link! I watched from DVR, and forgot to add recording time (no live event prompt, what's up with that?) and figured I missed something fun. NPH freakin' rocks is all I can say. Heck, I like him the Shoe Fairy on Sesame Street :) He is just one of those performers that I can watch in anything and enjoy it. As for the Tonys, I actually enjoyed seeing some of the numbers from Broadway productions, but I was getting extremely annoyed with some of the show's director's shot choices during performances--too close, too often, knocking me straight our of the moment, and de-stage-ifying it TOO much. And I loved it when they finally ran a hand mike out to the featured singer of the Guys and Dolls number after tons of audio glitches through the first hour :)

ThereUR | June 08, 19:15 CET

Matt Roush's review of the Tony Awards show. . .

All night long, I kept waiting for the Tonys ceremony to let its charming if sometimes breathless host, Neil Patrick Harris, do his thing—or as the Shrek cast would sing, let his freak flag fly. So I second Bruce Fretts’ Jeer to the producers for letting the show run on so long ... that the host’s hilarious closing-number recap (a smart idea) was delayed past the 11 pm/ET cut-off. This is the first time in years that the show has gone long. Who did they think they were, American Idol?

floofypooh | June 08, 19:30 CET

And my heels are now all the way over my head for NPH. Marry me?

marvelknight616 | June 08, 21:21 CET

God, already in the Archives!? I went to bed at 10:05pm last night. Was the end the only time Neil sang? I thought he was a charming host and though I love Hugh Jackman, when Hugh hosted the show seemed to become about Hugh, while Neil popped in and out appropriately. A very enjoyable time, for the length that I stayed up. I'm almost in despair that Tivo-less, DVR-less am I, no one has posted the Frank Langella presenting speech, or Geoffrey Rush's louche acceptance speech. Those were worth saving forever. And Billy Elliott performances GAVE.ME.CHILLS.

Tonya J | June 09, 03:00 CET

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